BAXTER RECALLS MEDS SOFTWARE: Medical device giant Baxter International is recalling medication administrating software after complaints that it is sometimes recommending the wrong types and dosages of medication for patients.
The Deerfield company first alerted customers in June that there was an issue with its Abacus software, but the U.S. Food & Drug Administration on Monday issued a Class I recall, its most serious type, because the device may cause serious injury or death.
The FDA’s recall is based on five complaints that allege the software poses a risk to patients through printed labels it produces for compounded medication mixtures. They sometimes contain incorrect information if users unintentionally or incorrectly modify label templates. There are multiple fields within the label template that users can modify, and the potential is highly variable depending on which field has been changed incorrectly, according to a statement from Baxter.
Incorrect values or patient names on labels can cause serious harm if patients are receiving the wrong amounts or medications, the FDA says. Wrong medications and doses can cause electrolyte abnormalities and glucose issues.
There are no recorded injuries or deaths associated with the software issue, but more than 1,100 customers were affected between May 2013 and September 2019. READ MORE.
IS THE FIX TO 340B RULING REALLY FAIR? While the American Hospital Association and others have cheered the decision in support of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ potential response to a Supreme Court decision that invalidated cuts to 340B payments, providers that don’t participate in the program say CMS’s plan would lead to unfair overpayments.
Safety-net providers can access lower-cost prescription drugs through the federal 340B program. In 2020, about 50,000 providers participating in 340B saved a collective $38 billion on drugs, according to data from the University of Southern California.
CMS has paid less for outpatient drugs acquired through the 340B program than for other drugs since 2018. According to the agency, lower payments were justified because it reimbursed more for the medicines than hospitals paid to acquire them.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, CMS announced it would revert to reimbursing 340B drugs at the same rates as non-340B drugs.
Some providers who don’t use the program described the agency’s road map as “irresponsible” and argue CMS would be justified paying even less for 340B drugs.
Both groups are also watching closely to see how CMS decides to pay back providers that missed out on 340B reimbursements between 2018 and 2022 when the policy was in place. READ MORE.
ABILITYLAB TOP REHAB HOSPITAL IN THE NATION, AGAIN: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab was named the best rehabilitation hospital in the nation by U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday. It’s the 32nd consecutive year it has been ranked as No. 1 in the nation.
The Streeterville hospital, formerly Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, is the only hospital of any kind to hold onto that kind of rankings record, AbilityLab said in a statement.
“It would be easy to rest on our laurels, but our team members never do or will,” Peggy Kirk, president and CEO of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab said in the statement. “They’re always reaching for better patient outcomes and breakthrough scientific discoveries. It’s this drive that defines our culture and continually defies expectation. It’s what makes Shirley Ryan AbilityLab so special.”
OPINION—HOW BIG SYSTEMS JOINING WITH COMMUNITY PROVIDERS CAN MAKE A CHANGE: Brenda Battle, senior vice president for community health transformation and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at UChicago Medicine, leads the system’s work with the South Side Healthy Community Organization. As such, she penned an opinion piece addressing how the South Side organization is making a difference.
“The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the…
Read More: Doctors tweeting the truth • Baxter software recall